Atypical Anti-Glomerular Basement Membrane Nephritis: A Case Series From the French Nephropathology Group

Bertrand Chauveau, Jean-Baptiste Gibier, Jérôme Olagne, Antoine Morel, Selda Aydin, Stephen P McAdoo, Nicolas Viallet, Hélène Perrochia, Emilie Pambrun, Virginie Royal, Nathalie Demoulin, Jean-Louis Kemeny, Carole Philipponnet, Alexandre Hertig, Jean-Jacques Boffa, Emmanuelle Plaisier, Camille Domenger, Isabelle Brochériou, Clément Deltombe, Jean-Paul Duong Van HuyenDavid Buob, Candice Roufosse, Thomas Hellmark, Vincent Audard, Fabrice Mihout, Samih H Nasr, Karine Renaudin, Anissa Moktefi, Marion Rabant, CFPR - French Nephropathology Group

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: Atypical anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) nephritis is characterized by a bright linear immunoglobulin staining along the GBM by immunofluorescence without a diffuse crescentic glomerulonephritis nor serum anti-GBM antibodies by conventional ELISA. We characterized a series of patients with atypical anti-GBM disease.

STUDY DESIGN: Case series.

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: Patients were identified by the French Nephropathology Group as having atypical anti-GBM nephritis between 2003 and 2022.

FINDINGS: Among 38 potential cases, 25 were included. 14 (56%) were female and 23 (92%) had hematuria. Median [interquartile range (IQR)] serum creatinine at diagnosis was 150 [102-203] μmol/L and median [IQR] urine protein to creatinine ratio was 2.4 [1.3-5.2] g/g. 9 (36%) patients had endocapillary proliferative glomerulonephritis (GN), 4 (16%) had mesangial proliferative GN, 4 (16%) had membranoproliferative GN, 2 (8%) had pure and focal crescentic GN, 1 (4%) had focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, and 5 had glomeruli that were unremarkable on histopathology. Nine patients (36%) had crescents, involving a median of 9% of glomeruli. Bright linear staining for IgG was seen in 22 cases (88%) and for IgA in 3 cases (12%). The nine patients (38%) who had a monotypic staining pattern tended to be older with less proteinuria and rarely had crescents. Kidney survival rate at one year was 83% and did not appear to be associated with the light chain restriction.

LIMITATIONS: Retrospective case series with a limited number of biopsies including electron microscopy.

CONCLUSIONS: Compared to typical anti-GBM disease, atypical anti-GBM nephritis frequently presents with endocapillary or mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis pattern and appears to have slower disease progression. Further studies are needed to fully characterize its pathophysiology and associated clinical outcomes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)713-728.e1
JournalAmerican Journal of Kidney Diseases
Volume83
Issue number6
Early online date2024 Jan 1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Urology and Nephrology

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